Book Review: Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge

Barry is an American who just left his finance career to pursue his true love of painting. Sophie is a French architect who is on her honeymoon. They are both in a small plane over the South Pacific when a lightning storm and lack of fuel causes their plane to crash. They are the lone survivors and both happen to end up on the same very tiny deserted island. They have almost no salvaged supplies and the only food available to them are bananas and the occasional clam. And yet somehow they manage to survive, suffering sadness and hopelessness which turns into a rabid hatred for each other, and eventually morphs into love and respect.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s told through the eyes of both characters as well as occasional chapters by a narrator pointing out random facts about the island and how it came to be. The more I read, the more I began to love the story. Barry and Sophie do not start as very likeable characters. They both have a lot of spunk and they do not like each other. At all. But over their years on the island, they become closer and start depending on each other in ways that only two people on a deserted island can. They develop a pure and beautiful love that holds them together through every challenge they face.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book. It’s a beautiful redemptive story about being abundantly happy with what’s in front of you and what you already have, no matter how little it might be. It’s about the purity of a relationship that can bloom without outside distractions. And it’s about doing everything you can to make another person smile as you challenge them to follow their dreams. Even when you’re fighting for mere survival on a tiny island with almost no hope of rescue. I loved this book and I know it will stay with me for a very long time.